Systems and methods to connect care seekers with care providers for caretaking needs

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods to connect care seekers with care providers for caretaking needs are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may: store seeker profiles for care seekers and/or provider profiles for care providers; present a user interface configured to facilitate generation of individual provider profiles; receive care seeker-defined characteristics of potential care providers; generate new individual provider profiles for individual potential care providers; and/or perform other operations.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods to connect careseekers with care providers for caretaking needs.

BACKGROUND

Some healthcare providers and/or employers may subsidize costs for thecaretaking of children. Professional caregivers (herein also referred toas “care providers”) may work within the context of a center-based care(e.g., such as daycare for children, nursing homes for elderly, etc.) ora home-based care (e.g., nannies or family care, at-home elderly care,etc.). Childcare providers may also be required to have certification infirst aid and/or CPR. Often background checks, drug testing, andreference verification are performed. Adults and/or elders may also besubjects of caretaking needs in the case of short-term medical recoveryand/or ongoing care needs.

SUMMARY

When an individual seeks a care provider to satisfy caretaking needs,they often encounter many challenges. For example, a care seeker willtypically have to sift through many potential care providers based onexperience, age, availability, and face to face interviews, among otherqualities. When subsidized by healthcare, the quantity and/or quality ofin-network care providers may be limited. These challenges are oftencompounded in cases of last-minute caretaking needs. Typically, a careseeker may end up calling upon grandparents, in-laws, friends,friends-of-friends, and/or babysitters to satisfy their caretakingneeds. Repeatedly using friends and family as care providers may resultin some unspoken resentment towards the care seekers, as such caretakingis often provided out of love and free of charge.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system configured toconnect care seekers with care providers for caretaking needs. One ormore implementations of the system may address challenges existing inconventional solutions for care seekers seeking care providers. Inparticular, the system may include a user-generated network of careproviders which may be accessed, searched, and used to book caretakingappointments. The system may be integrated with healthcare systemsand/or private providers of healthcare in order to facilitate directpayment to care providers. Users who are care seekers may request thatfriends and/or family become approved as care providers within thesystem. The friends and/or family may become users of the system who arecare providers and may utilize the system to receive payment in exchangefor caretaking services. Accordingly, users who are care seekers maydevelop a network of care providers which they know and trust and whichcan be easily accessed, booked, and paid through the features and/orfunctionally of the system.

One or more implementations of a system to connect care seekers withcare providers for caretaking needs may include one or more ofnon-transitory electronic storage, one or more hardware processorsconfigured by machine-readable instructions, and/or other components.

The non-transitory electronic storage may be configured to store one ormore of seeker profiles, provider profiles, and/or other information.Seeker profiles may comprise profiles for users who may be care seekers.Individual seeker profiles may define values of seeker parameters. Thevalues of the seeker parameters may describe characteristics of the careseekers. By way of non-limiting illustration, the seeker profiles maycomprise a first seeker profile for a first user who is a care seeker.

Provider profiles may comprise profiles for users of the system who maybe care providers. Individual provider profiles may define values ofprovider parameters. The values of the provider parameters may describecharacteristics of the care providers. By way of non-limitingillustration, the provider profiles may comprise a first providerprofile for a second user who is a care provider.

The processor(s) may be configured to effectuate presentation of a userinterface on computing platforms of users. The user interface may beconfigured to facilitate generation of the individual provider profilesby individual care seekers and/or individual care providers. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, the user interface may be presented on afirst computing platform of the first user who may be a care seeker.

The processor(s) may be configured to receive, via the user interface,user entry and/or selection of individual sets of characteristics ofindividual potential care providers. By way of non-limitingillustration, user entry and/or selection of a first set ofcharacteristics of a first potential care provider may be received fromthe first user via the user interface.

The processor(s) may be configured to generate new provider profiles forthe potential care providers. The potential care providers may then, assuch, be defined as users within the system who are care providers. Byway of non-limiting illustration, a second provider profile may begenerated for the first potential care provider such that the firstpotential care provider may comprise a third user who is a careprovider.

As used herein, any association (or relation, or reflection, orindication, or correspondence) involving servers, processors, clientcomputing platforms, and/or another entity or object that interacts withany part of the system and/or plays a part in the operation of thesystem, may be a one-to-one association, a one-to-many association, amany-to-one association, and/or a many-to-many association or N-to-Massociation (note that N and M may be different numbers greater than 1).

As used herein, the term “obtain” (and derivatives thereof) may includeactive and/or passive retrieval, determination, derivation, transfer,upload, download, submission, and/or exchange of information, and/or anycombination thereof. As used herein, the term “effectuate” (andderivatives thereof) may include active and/or passive causation of anyeffect. As used herein, the term “determine” (and derivatives thereof)may include measure, calculate, compute, estimate, approximate,generate, and/or otherwise derive, and/or any combination thereof.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present technology,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configured to connect care seekers with careproviders for caretaking needs, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method to connect care seekers with care providersfor caretaking needs, in accordance with one or more implementation

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 configured to connect care seekers withcare providers for caretaking needs, in accordance with one or moreimplementations. Users of the system 100 who are care seekers mayrequest that friends, family, and/or other individuals become approvedas care providers within the system 100. The friends, family, and/orother individuals may become users of the system 100 who are careproviders and thus may utilize the system 100 to receive payment inexchange for caretaking services. Accordingly, users who are careseekers may develop a network of care providers which they know andtrust and which can be easily accessed, booked, and paid through thefeatures and/or functionally of the system 100.

In some implementations, system 100 may include one or more of one ormore servers 102, one or more client computing platforms 104, externalresources 126, and/or other components. Server(s) 102 may be configuredto communicate with one or more client computing platforms 104 accordingto a client/server architecture and/or other architectures. Clientcomputing platform(s) 104 may be configured to communicate with otherclient computing platforms via server(s) 102 and/or according to apeer-to-peer architecture and/or other architectures. Users may accesssystem 100 via client computing platform(s) 104.

Server(s) 102 may include one or more of non-transitory electronicstorage 128, one or more processors 130 configured by machine-readableinstructions 106, and/or other components.

The non-transitory electronic storage 128 may be configured to store oneor more of seeker profiles, provider profiles, and/or other information.

Seeker profiles may comprise profiles for users who may be care seekers.Individual seeker profiles may define values of seeker parameters.Individual seeker profiles may include videos and/or images of one ormore of the care seekers, subjects of caretaking, locations ofcaretaking (e.g., view of house, location of lockbox, etc.) and/or othercontent. The values of the seeker parameters may describecharacteristics of the care seekers. By way of non-limitingillustration, the seeker profiles may comprise a first seeker profilefor a first user who is a care seeker.

The seeker parameters may include one or more of a name parameter, alocation parameter, a subject parameter, a status parameter, a paymentparameter, and/or other parameters.

A value of a name parameter may define a name characteristic of a user.A name characteristics may include one or more of a legal name, apreferred name, a username, an email address, and/or other information.

A value of a location parameter may define a location characteristic ofcaretaking. A location characteristic may include one or more ofaddresses where caretaking is desired, restrictions and/or notes aboutlocations, and/or other information. By way of non-limitingillustration, addresses may include one or more of a home address, awork address, a zip code, a city, a state, and/or other information.Restrictions and/or notes about locations may include one or more ofbuilding type indications (e.g., house, apartment, hotel, motel, office,and/or other information), access information (e.g., key location, lockcodes, and/or other information), parking instructions, pet information,and/or other information.

A value of a subject parameter may define subject characteristics of asubject of caretaking needs. Subject characteristics of a subject ofcaretaking needs may include one or more of name, age, gender identify,allergies, exceptionalities, preferences (e.g., with respect to toys,movies, games, books, cartoons, color, etc.), and/or other information.

A value of a status parameter may define a status characteristics of auser. A status characteristics of a user may comprise a qualitativeand/or quantitative description of a user as a user within system 100. Astatus characteristic may include one or more of quantity of upvotesand/or downvotes by other users in the system 100, a rating, a review, acomment, an indication that a background check has been performed,and/or other information.

A value of a payment parameter may define a payment characteristic of auser from which funds are to be paid from. A payment characteristic mayinclude one or more of healthcare provider information, employerinformation, personal payment information, and/or other information. Thehealthcare provider information may include one or more of healthcareprovider name, account number, and/or other information. The employerinformation may include employer name, employer contact information,and/or other information. The personal payment information may includepersonal banking information, credit card information, debit cardinformation, and/or other information.

Provider profiles may comprise profiles for users of the system who maybe care providers. Individual provider profiles may define values ofprovider parameters. Individual provider profiles may include videosand/or images of one or more of the care provider themselves, a mockinterview, and/or other content. The values of the provider parametersmay describe characteristics of the care providers. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, the provider profiles may include a firstprovider profile of a second user who is a care provider.

The provider parameters may include one or more of the name parameter, alocation parameter, an age parameter, an experience parameter, alanguages parameter, a certification parameter, an education parameter,a cost parameter, a specialties parameter, a relationship parameter, astatus parameter, a payment parameter, and/or other parameters.

A value of the name parameter may define a name characteristic of auser. A name characteristics may include one or more of a legal name, apreferred name, a username, an email address, and/or other information.

A value of a location parameter may define a location characteristic ofa user. A location characteristic may include one or more of a homeaddress, a work address, a zip code of residence, a city of residence, astate of residence, a location limitation to provide caretaking services(e.g., a geofence), and/or other information.

A value of an age parameter may define an age characteristic of a user.An age characteristics may include one or more of age, birthdate,astrological sign, and/or other information.

A value of an experience parameter may define an experiencecharacteristic of a user. An experience characteristic may include ameasure of caretaking experience and/or other information. The measuremay be expressed in terms of time (e.g., months, years, decades, etc.),quantity of subjects previously under their supervision, and/or otherinformation.

A value of a languages parameter may define a language characteristic ofa user. A language characteristic of a user may include identificationof one or more languages in which the user is fluent in, a level offluency, and/or other information.

A value of a certification parameter may define a certificationcharacteristic of a user. A certification characteristic of a user mayinclude identifications of one or more certifications obtained by theuser. A certification may include one or more of CPR, first aid, drugadministration, and/or other certifications.

A value of an education parameter may define an education characteristicof a user. An education characteristic may include one or more ofschools attended, degrees obtained, calendar year(s) of graduation,and/or other information.

A value of a cost parameter may define a cost characteristic of a user.A cost characteristic of a user may include one or more of a price perunit time for caretaking services, a flat rate for caretaking services,and/or other information.

A value of a specialties parameter may define a specialtiescharacteristic of a user. A specialties characteristic of a user mayinclude specialties that the user is able to provide during care taking.The specialties may be specified with respect to characteristics of thesubjects, characteristics of the amount and/or extent of caretaking,and/or other information. Specialties with respect to characteristics ofthe subjects may include one or more of subjects of certain age and/orage range (e.g., children, elderly, toddlers, teens, etc.), subjects ofcertain disability and/or exceptionality, and/or other specialty.Specialties with respect to characteristics of the amount and/or extentof caretaking may include one or more of working late nights, workingweekends, fulfilling last minute requests, working overnight, performingcertain tasks (e.g., drop-off to school, grocery shopping, and/or othertasks), performing pet caretaking needs, and/or other specialties.

A value of a relationship parameter may define a relationshipcharacteristics of a user. A relationship characteristics may include anindication of a relationship to a particular care seeker. A relationshipto a care seeker may include one or more of grandparent, sister,brother, in-law, friend, friend-of-friend, part-time employee (e.g.,babysitter), neighbor, and/or other indication.

A value of a payment parameter may define a payment characteristic of auser to which funds are to be paid. A payment characteristic may includepersonal payment information and/or other information. The personalpayment information may include personal banking information, creditcard information, debit card information, and/or other information.

Its noted that the above descriptions of provider profiles and/or seekerproviders are for illustrative purposes only and are not to beconsidered limiting. Instead, it is to be understood that the profilesmay include other information and/or may define respective users inother ways.

In FIG. 1 , machine-readable instructions 106 of one or more processors130 of server(s) 102 may include one or more instruction components. Theinstruction components may include computer program components.Executing the machine-readable instructions 106 may cause server(s) 102to facilitate connecting care seekers with care providers for caretakingneeds. The instruction components may include one or more of a profilecomponent 108, a user interface component 110, a search component 112, arequest component 114, a booking component 115, and/or other instructioncomponents.

The profile component 108 may be configured to obtain, manage, and/oraccess seeker profiles and/or provider profiles stored by electronicstorage 128. Managing seeker profiles and/or provider profiles mayinclude one or more of generating profiles, changing profiles, updatingprofiles, and/or other features and/or functionality.

User interface component 110 may be configured to effectuatepresentation of individual user interfaces on individual clientcomputing platforms of one or more client computing platforms 104. Forexample, the individual client computing platforms may access a userinterface over network 116. A given user interface may be configured tofacilitate connecting care seekers with care providers for caretakingneeds. An instance of a user interface may include one or more userinterface portions. By way of non-limiting illustration, a userinterface may include one or more of an input portion, a displayportion, and/or other portions. Individual portions may include one ormore user interface elements configured to facilitate user interactionwith the user interface. By way of non-limiting illustration, userinterface elements may include one or more of text input fields, dropdown menus, check boxes, display windows, virtual buttons, and/or otherelements configured to facilitate user interaction.

An input portion of a user interface may be configured to obtain userinput. User input may include one or more of information to generate aprovider profile and/or seeker profile, user-provided search queries,user entry and/or selection individual sets of characteristics ofindividual potential care providers, and/or other input. In someimplementations, the use of the term “potential” may refer to anindividual who has yet to establish a profile within the system 100.

In some implementation, user interface may be configured to obtain userentry and/or selection by the individual potential care seekers ofindividual sets of characteristics of the individual potential careseekers to generate new seeker profiles. By way of non-limitingillustration, individual user interface elements may correspond toindividual seeker parameters. User input into the individual userinterface elements may define the corresponding values of the individualseeker parameters.

In some implementations, the user interface may be configured to obtainuser entry and/or selection by the individual potential care providersof individual sets of characteristics of the individual potential careproviders to generate new provider profiles. By way of non-limitingillustration, individual user interface elements may correspond toindividual provider parameters. User input into the individual userinterface elements may define the corresponding values of the individualprovider parameters.

In some implementation, user interface may be configured to obtain userentry and/or selection by the individual care seekers of individual setsof characteristics of individual potential care providers to generatenew provider profiles. By way of non-limiting illustration, individualuser interface elements may correspond to individual providerparameters. User input into the individual user interface elements maydefine the corresponding values of the individual provider parameters.By way of non-limiting illustration, user entry and/or selection of afirst set of characteristics of a first potential care provider may bereceived from the first user via the user interface.

In some implementation, user interface may be configured to obtain userentry and/or selection of search queries. A user-provided search querymay include a query to search through the provider profiles to find oneor more care providers to engage their services. In someimplementations, a user-provided search query may specify one or more ofsubject information, timing information, location information, and/orother information.

The subject information may identify and/or describe one or moresubjects having caretaking needs. The subject information may includeone or more of the values of the subject parameters selected from theseeker profiles. By way of non-limiting illustration, individual userinterface elements may correspond to individual subjects. User inputinto the individual user interface elements (e.g., selection of acheckbox) may incorporate the information about the subject into asearch query.

The timing information may indicate timing requirements of thecaretaking needs. Timing requirements may include one or more of startdate, start time, end date, end time, and/or other information.

The location information may indicate location where the caretaking isto take place. The location information may include one or more of thevalue of the location parameter stored in the seeker profiles. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, individual user interface elements maycorrespond to individual locations included in a seeker profile. Userinput into the individual user interface elements (e.g., selection of acheckbox) may incorporate the information about the location into asearch query.

A display portion may be configured to display responses fromuser-provided search queries (see, e.g., search component 112). Theresponses may include sets of one or more provider profiles having oneor more characteristics that satisfy the user-defined search queries. Byway of non-limiting illustration, a provider profile may be displayedbased on having characteristics (defined in values of providerparameters) satisfying one or more of subject information, timinginformation, location information, and/or other information included inthe user defined search queries. In some implementations, individualprovider profiles in the sets of one or more provider profiles may bedisplayed in a list form and/or other display form. In someimplementations, individual provider profiles may be associated withindividual user interface elements (e.g., check boxes) configured tofacilitate selection of an associated provider profile. The displayportion may be configured to receive user entry and/or selection of oneor more provider profiles from the displayed individual sets of one ormore provider profiles. The entry and/or selection may convey a desireto utilize the particular care provider for caretaking needs. The entryand/or selection of one or more provider profiles may generate andcommunicate caretaking requests to computing platforms of the one ormore care providers of the one or more provider profiles (see, e.g.,request component 114).

In some implementations, a display portion as viewed on a user interfaceof a care provider may include one or more caretaking requests and/orother information. Individual caretaking requests may include one ormore of subject information, timing information, location information,and/or other information included in the user defined search query. Thedisplay portion showing a caretaking request may include a userinterface element configured to obtain entry and/or selection to accept,deny, and/or modify the caretaking request. The acceptance, denial,and/or modification may be communicated back to a computing platform ofthe requesting care seeker (see, e.g., booking component 115).

The profile component 108 may be configured to effectuate communicationof notifications to the individual potential care providers. Thenotifications may be generated and/or communicated responsive to theuser entry and/or selection by the individual care seekers of theindividual sets of characteristics of the individual potential careproviders. The notifications may convey to the individual potential careproviders a pending request for them to become a care provider. In someimplementations, the notifications may include further instructions onhow to complete the process of becoming a care provider. Theinstructions may include one or more of confirming identity, inputtinginformation into a profile, contacting a representative of the system,signing documents, passing a background check, and/or other information.

The profile component 108 may be configured to generate new individualprovider profiles for the individual potential care providers. The newprovider profiles may be generated responsive to obtaining indicationsthat the individual potential care providers are approved. In someimplementations, new provider profiles may be generated based onindividual sets of characteristics of the individual potential careproviders provided by the care seekers, information provided by thepotential care providers themselves, and/or other information. In someimplementations, representatives and/or administrators of system 100 mayprovide input indicating approval of potential care providers inresponse to completion of one or more of the instructions to become acare provider.

The generation of the new provider profile may cause the individualpotential care providers to be defined as users who are individual careproviders within the system 100. By way of non-limiting illustration, asecond provider profile may be generated for the first potential careprovider such that the first potential care provider may be deemed athird user of the system 100 who is an individual care provider.

The search component 112 may be configured to obtain, via user interfacecomponent 110, one or more user-provided search queries. Searchcomponent 112 may be configured to search stored provider profiles forone or more provider profiles having one or more characteristicsmatching individual ones of the user-provided search queries. A matchmay refer to one or more of an exact match, a logically similar match,and/or other consideration of determining search results. A logicallysimilar match may refer to a match that may not be exact (e.g., have theexact same text or phrasing), but may include text or phrasesrepresented by different words that otherwise mean the same thing. Byway of non-limiting illustration, a logically similar match may be foundbetween a query of “caretaking is required on Saturday” and a providerprofile indicating “I work weekends.” By way of non-limitingillustration, an exact match may be found between a query of “caretakingis required at a personal residence in San Diego” and a provider profilespecifying “I am willing to travel throughout San Diego.”

The search component 112 may be configured to identify individual setsof one or more provider profiles based on the user defined searchqueries. The individual sets of one or more provider profiles mayinclude the individual provider profiles having one or morecharacteristics that satisfy one or more of subject information, timinginformation, location information and/or other information included inthe user defined search queries. By way of non-limiting illustration, afirst set of provider profiles may be identified based on a first userdefined search query by the first user. The first set of providerprofiles may include the first provider profile, the second providerprofile, and/or other provider profiles satisfying the firstuser-defined search query. The search component 112 may be configured tocommunicate the identified individual sets of one or more providerprofiles to the user interface component 110 for display on thecomputing platform of the first user.

The request component 114 may be configured to receive, via input intothe user interface, user entry and/or selection of one or more providerprofiles from the individual sets of one or more provider profilesdisplayed as a result of search by search component 112. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, an entry and/or selection of the secondprovider profile (and/or other provider profile) from the first set ofprovider profiles displayed on the user interface of the first computingplatform of the first user may be received.

In some implementations, request component 114 may be configured toaccess and/or identify one or more provider profiles of care providerspreviously used to satisfy caretaking needs. In some implementations, acare seeker may save a list of one or more provider profiles so thatindividual profiles may be selected on later occasions. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, a care seeker may create a “favorites” list(e.g., within their seeker profile) of provider profiles of careproviders. In some implementations, a saved list of provider profiles ofcare providers may be displayed on a user interface in a list formand/or other display form. In some implementations, individual providerprofiles may be associated with individual user interface elements(e.g., check boxes) configured to facilitate selection of an associatedprovider profile. The request component 114 may be configured toreceive, via input into the user interface, user entry and/or selectionof one or more provider profiles from a saved list of provider profiles.

The request component 114 may be configured to generate individualcaretaking requests. The individual caretaking requests may include oneor more of subject information, timing information, locationinformation, and/or other information included in the user definedsearch queries. In some implementations, individual caretaking requestsmay include the seeker profiles of the care seekers who are requestingthe caretaking. This may allow the care providers to review the careseeker profiles before accepting the job. By way of non-limitingillustration, request component 114 may be configured to generate afirst caretaking request based on information in the first user definedsearch query. The first caretaking request may include the first seekerprofile of the first user and/or other information.

The request component 114 may be configured to effectuate communicationof the individual caretaking requests to individual computing platformsassociated with individual ones of the one or more provider profiles.The individual caretaking requests may include a user interface elementconfigured to obtain entry and/or selection to accept, deny, and/ormodify the caretaking request. The acceptance, denial, and/ormodification may be communicated back to a computing platform of therequesting care seeker. By way of non-limiting illustration, requestcomponent 114 may be configured to effectuate communication of the firstcaretaking request to a computing platform of the third user.

The booking component 115 may be configured to obtain entry and/orselection by the individual care providers to accept, deny, and/ormodify the caretaking requests. The selection of an “accept” may causean acceptance notification to be sent back to the computing platform ofthe care seeker. The acceptance notification may include confirmation ofsubject information, timing information, location information, and/orother information. The selection of a “deny” may cause a denialnotification to be sent back to the computing platform of the careseeker. The denial notification may include an indication that therequest was not accepted, a reason why, and/or other information. Theselection of a “modify” may cause a request modification notification tobe sent back to the computing platform of the care seeker. The requestmodification notification may include proposed changes to subjectinformation, timing information, location information, and/or otherinformation.

The booking component 115 may be configured to obtaining indicationsthat the caretaking has been completed. By way of non-limitingillustration, one or both of individual care seekers and/or individualcare providers may provide input into a user interface indicationcompletion of a caretaking request. Responsive to obtaining indicationsthat the caretaking has been completed, booking component 115 may beconfigured to effectuate communication of payment information to theindividual computing platforms of the individual care providers. Thepayment information may include information necessary to effectuatefunds being deducted from a funds source of a care seeker (e.g., basedon values of payment parameter in a seeker profile) and attributed to afunds source of a care provider (e.g., based on values of paymentparameter in a provider profile).

The booking component 115 may be configured to determine payment amountsto be deducted from different funds sources of individual care seekers.By way of non-limiting illustration, costs subsidized by healthcaresystems and/or employer benefits may be accompanied by an out-of-pocketco-pay. The booking component 115 may be configured to determine anamount of healthcare and/or employer paid costs and/or an amount ofout-of-pocket co-pay costs.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary user interface 300, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 300 may be configured toobtain user entry and/or selection of a set of characteristics of apotential care provider to facilitate generation of a provider profilefor the potential care provider. The user interface 300 may include aset of user interface elements. Individual user interface elements maycorrespond to individual provider parameters. Individual user interfaceelements may include, for example, text input fields. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, a first element 302, a second element 304, athird element 306, and/or a fourth element 308 may correspond todifferent values of a name parameter. By way of non-limitingillustration, a fifth element 310 may correspond to a value of arelationship parameter.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface 400, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 400 may be configured todisplay a provider profile. The user interface 400 may include a set ofuser interface elements. Individual user interface elements maycorrespond to display portions displaying different values of differentprovider parameters of a care provider and/or other information includedin a provider profile. By way of non-limiting illustration, a firstelement 402 may display an image of the care provider, a second element404 may display one or more values of a certification parameter, a thirdelement 406 may display a value of a languages parameter, and/or afourth element 408 may display values of an education parameter.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface 500, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 500 may be configured toobtain user entry and/or selection of subject information to be includedin a user defined search query. The user interface 500 may include a setof user interface elements. Individual user interface elements beselected and/or may correspond to individual subjects that may beincluded in a seeker profile. Individual user interface elements mayinclude, for example, check boxes. By way of non-limiting illustration,a first element 502 may facilitate selection of a first subject, asecond element 504 may facilitate selection of a second subject, and/ora third element 506 may facilitate selection of a third subject.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary user interface 600, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 600 may be configured toobtain user entry and/or selection of timing information to be includedin a user defined search query. The user interface 600 may include a setof user interface elements. Individual user interface elements beselected and/or may correspond to timing requirements with respect tostart date and/or time and/or end date and/or time. Individual userinterface elements may include, for example, a scrolling date/timeindicator. By way of non-limiting illustration, a first element 602 mayfacilitate selection of a start date and/or time, and/or a secondelement 604 may facilitate selection of an end date and/or time.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user interface 700, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 700 may be configured toobtain user entry and/or selection of location information to beincluded in a user defined search query. The user interface 700 mayinclude a set of user interface elements. Individual user interfaceelements be selected and/or may correspond to individual locations thatmay be included in a seeker profile. Individual user interface elementsmay include, for example, check boxes. By way of non-limitingillustration, a first element 702 may facilitate selection of a firstlocation, a second element 704 may facilitate selection of a secondlocation, and/or a third element 706 may facilitate selection of a thirdlocation.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface 800, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 800 may be configured todisplay individual sets of one or more provider profiles satisfying asearch query, and/or obtain user entry and/or selection of one or moreprovider profiles from the individual sets of one or more providerprofiles. The user interface 800 may include a set of user interfaceelements. Individual user interface elements may be selected and/or maycorrespond to individual providers. Individual user interface elementsmay include, for example, check boxes. By way of non-limitingillustration, a first element 802 may facilitate selection of a firstprovider profile, a second element 804 may facilitate selection of asecond provider profile, and/or a third element 806 may facilitateselection of a third provider profile.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface 900, in accordance withone or more implementations. The user interface 900 may include adisplay portion showing one or more of current bookings, pendingbookings, past bookings, canceled bookings, and/or other information.The user interface 900 may serve as a hub to select individual bookingsto cancel and/or modify individual bookings

Returning to FIG. 1 , in some implementations, server(s) 102, clientcomputing platform(s) 104, and/or external resources 126 may beoperatively linked via one or more electronic communication links. Forexample, such electronic communication links may be established, atleast in part, via a network 116 such as the Internet and/or othernetworks. It will be appreciated that this is not intended to belimiting, and that the scope of this disclosure includes implementationsin which server(s) 102, client computing platform(s) 104, and/orexternal resources 126 may be operatively linked via some othercommunication media.

A given client computing platform 104 may include one or more processorsconfigured to execute computer program components. The computer programcomponents may be configured to enable an expert or user associated withthe given client computing platform 104 to interface with system 100and/or external resources 126, and/or provide other functionalityattributed herein to client computing platform(s) 104. By way ofnon-limiting example, the given client computing platform 104 mayinclude one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheldcomputer, a tablet computing platform, a NetBook, a Smartphone, a gamingconsole, and/or other computing platforms.

External resources 126 may include sources of information outside ofsystem 100, external entities participating with system 100, and/orother resources. In some implementations, some or all of thefunctionality attributed herein to external resources 126 may beprovided by resources included in system 100. By way of non-limitingillustration, an external entity may include one or more of a bank, ahealthcare provider, an employer, and/or other entities.

Server(s) 102 may include electronic storage 128, one or more processors130, and/or other components. Server(s) 102 may include communicationlines, or ports to enable the exchange of information with a network 116and/or other computing platforms. Illustration of server(s) 102 in FIG.1 is not intended to be limiting. Server(s) 102 may include a pluralityof hardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together toprovide the functionality attributed herein to server(s) 102. Forexample, server(s) 102 may be implemented by a cloud of computingplatforms operating together as server(s) 102.

Electronic storage 128 may comprise non-transitory storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofelectronic storage 128 may include one or both of system storage that isprovided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server(s)102 and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to server(s)102 via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.)or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 128 mayinclude one or more of optically readable storage media (e.g., opticaldisks, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape,magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-basedstorage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media(e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or other electronically readable storagemedia. Electronic storage 128 may include one or more virtual storageresources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or othervirtual storage resources). Electronic storage 128 may store softwarealgorithms, information determined by processor(s) 130, informationreceived from server(s) 102, information received from client computingplatform(s) 104, and/or other information that enables server(s) 102 tofunction as described herein.

Processor(s) 130 may be configured to provide information processingcapabilities in server(s) 102. As such, processor(s) 130 may include oneor more of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuitdesigned to process information, an analog circuit designed to processinformation, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronicallyprocessing information. Although processor(s) 130 is shown in FIG. 1 asa single entity, this is for illustrative purposes only. In someimplementations, processor(s) 130 may include a plurality of processingunits. These processing units may be physically located within the samedevice, or processor(s) 130 may represent processing functionality of aplurality of devices operating in coordination. Processor(s) 130 may beconfigured to execute components 108, 110, 112, 114, 115, and/or othercomponents. Processor(s) 130 may be configured to execute components108, 110, 112, 114, 115, and/or other components by software; hardware;firmware; some combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware;and/or other mechanisms for configuring processing capabilities onprocessor(s) 130. As used herein, the term “component” may refer to anycomponent or set of components that perform the functionality attributedto the component. This may include one or more physical processorsduring execution of processor readable instructions, the processorreadable instructions, circuitry, hardware, storage media, or any othercomponents.

It should be appreciated that although components 108, 110, 112, 114,and/or 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being implemented within asingle processing unit, in implementations in which processor(s) 130includes multiple processing units, one or more of components 108, 110,112, 114, and/or 115 may be implemented remotely from the othercomponents. The description of the functionality provided by thedifferent components 108, 110, 112, 114, and/or 115 described below isfor illustrative purposes, and is not intended to be limiting, as any ofcomponents 108, 110, 112, 114, and/or 115 may provide more or lessfunctionality than is described. For example, one or more of components108, 110, 112, 114, and/or 115 may be eliminated, and some or all of itsfunctionality may be provided by other ones of components 108, 110, 112,114, and/or 115. As another example, processor(s) 130 may be configuredto execute one or more additional components that may perform some orall of the functionality attributed below to one of components 108, 110,112, 114, and/or 115.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method 200 to connect care seekers with careproviders for caretaking needs, in accordance with one or moreimplementations. The operations of method 200 presented below areintended to be illustrative. In some implementations, method 200 may beaccomplished with one or more additional operations not described,and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally,the order in which the operations of method 200 are illustrated in FIG.2 and described below is not intended to be limiting.

In some implementations, method 200 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 200 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 200.

An operation 202 may include obtaining one or more of seeker profilesfor care seekers, provider profiles for care providers, and/or otherinformation. Individual seeker profiles may define values of seekerparameters. The values of the seeker parameters may describecharacteristics of the care seekers. The seeker profiles may comprise afirst seeker profile for a first user who is an individual care seeker.Individual provider profiles may define values of provider parameters.The values of the provider parameters may describe characteristics ofthe care providers. The provider profiles may comprise a first providerprofile for a second user who is an individual care provider. Operation202 may be performed by one or more hardware processors configured bymachine-readable instructions including a component that is the same asor similar to profile component 108, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

An operation 204 may include presenting a user interface on computingplatforms of users. The user interface may be configured to facilitategeneration of the individual provider profiles by individual careseekers. By way of non-limiting illustration, the user interface may bepresented on a first computing platform of the first user. Operation 204may be performed by one or more hardware processors configured bymachine-readable instructions including a component that is the same asor similar to user interface component 110, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

An operation 206 may include receiving, via the user interface, userentry and/or selection by the individual care seekers of individual setsof characteristics of individual potential care providers. By way ofnon-limiting illustration, user entry and/or selection of a first set ofcharacteristics of a first potential care provider may be received fromthe first user via the user interface. Operation 206 may be performed byone or more hardware processors configured by machine-readableinstructions including a component that is the same as or similar touser interface component 110 and/or profile component 108, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

An operation 208 may include generating new individual provider profilesfor individual potential care providers. The individual potential careproviders may subsequently be defined as users who are individual careproviders. By way of non-limiting illustration, a second providerprofile may be generated for the first potential care provider such thatthe first potential care provider may comprise a third user who is anindividual care provider. Operation 208 may be performed by one or morehardware processors configured by machine-readable instructionsincluding a component that is the same as or similar to profilecomponent 108, in accordance with one or more implementations.

Although the present technology has been described in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology isnot limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any implementation can becombined with one or more features of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to connect care seekers withcare providers for caretaking needs, the system comprising:non-transitory electronic storage storing: seeker profiles for users whoare defined as care seekers, individual ones of the seeker profilesdefining values of seeker parameters, the values of the seekerparameters describing characteristics of individual ones of the careseekers, the seeker profiles comprising a first seeker profile for afirst user who is one of the care seekers; and provider profiles for theusers who are defined as care providers, individual ones of the providerprofiles defining values of provider parameters, the values of theprovider parameters describing characteristics of individual ones of thecare providers, the provider profiles comprising a first providerprofile for a second user who is one of the care providers; and one ormore physical processors configured by machine-readable instructions to:effectuate presentation of a user interface on computing platformsassociated with the users who are the care seekers, the user interfacebeing configured to facilitate generation of new ones of the providerprofiles by the individual ones of the care seekers so that the new onesof the provider profiles are for new users who i) are defined by theindividual ones of the care seekers themselves, and ii) become new onesof the care providers, such that the user interface is presented on afirst computing platform associated with the first user who is one ofthe care seekers; receive, via the user interface, user entry and/orselection of individual sets of characteristics of the new users asdefined by the individual ones of the care seekers, an individualcharacteristic including a relationship characteristic comprising anindication of a relationship between the individual ones of the careseekers and the new users, the relationship including one or more ofgrandparent, sister, brother, in-law, friend, friend-of-friend, orneighbor, such that first user entry and/or selection of a first set ofcharacteristics of a first new user is received from the first user viathe user interface; and generate, based on the individual sets ofcharacteristics of the new users, the new ones of the provider profilesfor the new users so that the new users are thereafter defined as thecare providers and are available for selection by the care seekers tofulfill care-seeking needs of the care seekers, such that a secondprovider profile is generated for the first new user so that the firstnew user is one of the care providers and is available to be selected bythe first user and one or more other ones of the care seekers to fulfillcare-seeking needs.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or morephysical processors are further configured by the machine-readableinstructions to: responsive to the user entry and/or selection of theindividual sets of characteristics of the new users, effectuatecommunication of notifications to the new users; and responsive toobtaining indications that the new users are approved, generate the newones of the provider profiles.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more physical processors are further configured by themachine-readable instructions to: effectuate presentation of a seconduser interface on the computing platforms associated with the new users,the second user interface being configured to obtain further user entryand/or selection of further characteristics of the new users; andresponsive to obtaining the further user entry and/or selection of thefurther characteristics of the new users, generate the new ones of theprovider profiles.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or morephysical processors are further configured by the machine-readableinstructions to: receive, via the user interface, user defined searchqueries, an individual user defined search query indicating subjectinformation, timing information, and location information, the subjectinformation identifying and/or describing one or more subjects havingcaretaking needs, the timing information indicating timing requirementsof the caretaking needs, and the location information indicatinglocation where the caretaking is to take place; identify individual setsof one or more of the provider profiles based on the user defined searchqueries, the individual sets of one or more of the provider profilesincluding the provider profiles having one or more of thecharacteristics that satisfy one or more of the subject information, thetiming information, or the location information, such that a first setof the provider profiles is identified based on a first user definedsearch query submitted by the first user, the first set of the providerprofiles including the first provider profile and the second providerprofile; display, via the user interface, the individual sets of one ormore of the provider profiles, including displaying the first set of theprovider profiles on the user interface displayed on the first computingplatform associated with the first user; receive, via the userinterface, subsequent user entry and/or selection of one or more of theprovider profiles from the individual sets of one or more of theprovider profiles, including receiving a second entry and/or selectionof the second provider profile from the first set of the providerprofiles displayed on the user interface of the first computing platformassociated with the first user; generate individual caretaking requests,the individual caretaking requests including one or more of the subjectinformation, the timing information, or the location informationincluded in the user defined search queries, including generating afirst caretaking request based on information in the first user definedsearch query; and effectuate communication of the individual caretakingrequests to individual ones of the computing platforms associated withthe users who are the care providers, such that the first caretakingrequest is communicated to a second computing platform associated withthe first new user.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or morephysical processors are further configured by the machine-readableinstructions to: responsive to obtaining indications that the caretakingneeds have been completed, effectuate communication of paymentinformation to the individual ones of the computing platforms associatedwith the users who are the care providers.
 6. The system of claim 1, thecharacteristics of the individual ones of the care providers include oneor more of name, location, age, experience, fluent languages,certifications, education, cost, caretaking specialties, or relationshipto user.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physicalprocessors are further configured by the machine-readable instructionsto: generate new ones of the seeker profiles based other new userssubmitting requests to become the care seekers.
 8. The system of claim1, wherein the one or more physical processors are further configured bythe machine-readable instructions to: obtain, via the user interface,further user entry and/or selection by the new users to generate the newones of the provider profiles.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theindividual ones of the seeker profiles for the individual ones of thecare seekers further include individual lists of one or more of theprovider profiles of the care providers previously used.
 10. Anon-transitory electronic storage media, the non-transitory electronicstorage media storing instruction which, when executed by a computersystem, cause the computer system to perform a method of: obtainingseeker profiles for users who are defined as care seekers, individualones of the seeker profiles defining values of seeker parameters, thevalues of the seeker parameters describing characteristics of individualones of the care seekers, the seeker profiles comprising a first seekerprofile for a first user who is one of the care seekers; obtainingprovider profiles for the users who are defined as care providers,individual ones of the provider profiles defining values of providerparameters, the values of the provider parameters describingcharacteristics of individual ones of the care providers, the providerprofiles comprising a first provider profile for a second user who isone of the care providers; effectuating presentation of a user interfaceon computing platforms associated with the users who are the careseekers, the user interface being configured to facilitate generation ofnew ones of the provider profiles by the individual ones of the careseekers so that the new ones of the provider profiles are for new userswho i) are defined by the individual ones of the care seekersthemselves, and ii) become new ones of the care providers, includingeffectuating presentation of the user interface on a first computingplatform associated with the first user who is one of the care seekers;receiving, via the user interface, user entry and/or selection ofindividual sets of characteristics of the new users as defined by theindividual ones of the care seekers, an individual characteristicincluding a relationship characteristic comprising an indication of arelationship between the individual ones of the care seekers and the newusers, the relationship including one or more of grandparent, sister,brother, in-law, friend, friend-of-friend, or neighbor, includingreceiving first user entry and/or selection of a first set ofcharacteristics of a first new user from the first user via the userinterface; and generating, based on the individual sets ofcharacteristics of the new users, the new ones of the provider profilesfor the new users so that the new users are thereafter defined as thecare providers and are available for selection by the care seekers tofulfill care-seeking needs of the care seekers, including generating asecond provider profile for the first new user so that the first newuser is one of the care providers and is available to be selected by thefirst user and one or more other ones of the care seekers to fulfillcare-seeking needs.
 11. The non-transitory electronic storage media ofclaim 10, wherein the method further comprises: responsive to thereceiving of the user entry and/or selection, effectuating communicationof notifications to the new users; and responsive to obtainingindications that the new users are approved, generating the new ones ofthe provider profiles.
 12. A method to connect care seekers with careproviders for caretaking needs, the method comprising: obtaining seekerprofiles for users who are defined as care seekers, and providerprofiles for the users who are defined as care providers, individualones of the seeker profiles defining values of seeker parameters, thevalues of the seeker parameters describing characteristics of individualones of the care seekers, the seeker profiles comprising a first seekerprofile for a first user who is one of the care seekers, individual onesof the provider profiles defining values of provider parameters, thevalues of the provider parameters describing characteristics ofindividual ones of the care providers, the provider profiles comprisinga first provider profile for a second user who is one of the careproviders; effectuating presentation of a user interface on computingplatforms associated with the users who are the care seekers, the userinterface being configured to facilitate generation of new ones of theprovider profiles by the individual ones of the care seekers so that thenew ones of the provider profiles are for new users who i) are definedby the individual ones of the care seekers themselves, and ii) becomenew ones of the care providers, including effectuating presentation ofthe user interface on a first computing platform associated with thefirst user who is one of the care seekers; receiving, via the userinterface, user entry and/or selection of individual sets ofcharacteristics of the new users as defined by the individual ones ofthe care seekers, an individual characteristic including a relationshipcharacteristic comprising an indication of a relationship between theindividual ones of the care seekers and the new users, the relationshipincluding one or more of grandparent, sister, brother, in-law, friend,friend-of-friend, or neighbor, including receiving first user entryand/or selection of a first set of characteristics of a first new userfrom the first user via the user interface; and generating, based on theindividual sets of characteristics of the new users, the new ones of theprovider profiles for the new users so that the new users are thereafterdefined as the care providers and are available for selection by thecare seekers to fulfill care-seeking needs of the care seekers,including generating a second provider profile for the first new user sothat the first new user is one of the care providers and is available tobe selected by the first user and one or more other ones of the careseekers to fulfill care-seeking needs.
 13. The method of claim 12,further comprising: responsive to the user entry and/or selection of theindividual sets of characteristics of the new users, effectuatingcommunication of notifications to the new users; and responsive toobtaining indications that the new users are approved, generating thenew ones of the provider profiles.
 14. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: effectuating presentation of a second user interface on thecomputing platforms of the new users, the second user interface beingconfigured to obtain further user entry and/or selection of furthercharacteristics of the new users; and responsive to obtaining thefurther user entry and/or selection of the further characteristics ofthe new users, generating the new ones of the provider profiles.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: receiving, via the userinterface, user defined search queries, an individual user definedsearch query indicating subject information, timing information, andlocation information, the subject information identifying and/ordescribing one or more subjects having caretaking needs, the timinginformation indicating timing requirements of the caretaking needs, andthe location information indicating location where the caretaking is totake place; identifying individual sets of one or more of the providerprofiles based on the user defined search queries, the individual setsof one or more of the provider profiles including the provider profileshaving one or more of the characteristics that satisfy one or more ofthe subject information, the timing information, or the locationinformation, including identifying a first set of the provider profilesbased on a first user defined search query submitted by the first user,the first set of the provider profiles including the first providerprofile and the second provider profile; displaying, via the userinterface, the individual sets of one or more of the provider profiles,including displaying the first set of the provider profiles on the userinterface displayed on the first computing platform associated with thefirst user; receiving, via the user interface, subsequent user entryand/or selection of one or more of the provider profiles from theindividual sets of one or more of the provider profiles, includingreceiving a second entry and/or selection of the second provider profilefrom the first set of the provider profiles displayed on the userinterface of the first computing platform associated with the firstuser; generating individual caretaking requests, the individualcaretaking requests including one or more of the subject information,the timing information, or the location information included in the userdefined search queries, including generating a first caretaking requestbased on information in the first user defined search query; andeffectuating communication of the individual caretaking requests toindividual ones of the computing platforms associated with the users whoare the care providers, including effectuating communication of thefirst caretaking request to a second computing platform associated withthe first new user.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:responsive to obtaining indications that the caretaking needs have beencompleted, effectuating communication of payment information to theindividual ones of the computing platforms associated with the users whoare the care providers.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein thecharacteristics of the individual ones of the care providers include oneor more of name, location, age, experience, fluent languages,certifications, education, cost, caretaking specialties, or relationshipto user.
 18. The method of claim 12, further comprising: generating newones of the seeker profiles based other new users submitting requests tobecome the care seekers.
 19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:obtaining, via the user interface, further user entry and/or selectionby the new users to generate the new ones of the provider profiles. 20.The method of claim 12, wherein the individual ones of the seekerprofiles for the individual ones of the care seekers further includeindividual lists of one or more of the provider profiles of the careproviders previously used.